PITTSBURGH PENGUINS WIN THE 2016 STANLEY CUP FINAL ON NBC

“It wasn’t easy getting here, especially the way things started out…everyone has a part in this.” – Sidney Crosby to Pierre McGuire

“It’s one of the best coaching jobs I’ve ever seen.” – Keith Jones on Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan

“This was a coming of age for Phil Kessel.” – Mike Milbury

“Since I’ve been there in 1984, they’ve always been the greatest fans. We’re going to have a little party for them.” – Mario Lemieux to Pierre McGuire on the Penguins Fans

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 12, 2016 – The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks by a score of 3-1 tonight in Game 6 on NBC to win the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, Pittsburgh’s first Stanley Cup title since 2009. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner and recorded two assists, including an assist on the eventual game-winner scored by Kris Letang in the second period.

Four-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member and analyst Eddie Olczyk, and Emmy Award-winning Inside-the-Glass analyst Pierre McGuire called Game 6 tonight from SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. This marks the 10th consecutive year that Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire have combined to call the Stanley Cup Final for NBC Sports Group.

Coverage began on NBCSN at 6 p.m. ET with NHL Live. Kathryn Tappen hosted alongside analysts Jeremy Roenick, Anson Carter and Brian Boucher on-set outside of SAP Center in San Jose. Dave Briggs reported on the action inside and outside the building. Coverage shifted inside the arena prior to puck drop with host Liam McHugh, who was joined by analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.

Tonight’s pre-game coverage also featured interviews with actor Cuba Gooding Jr.; current CSN Bay Area Sharks analyst and former Sharks forward Jamie Baker; and Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley, who suffered a postseason-ending injury in the Eastern Conference Final.

Kathryn Tappen and Doc Emrick opened coverage on NBCSN and NBC with statements regarding the tragic events that took place in Orlando early Sunday morning. In addition, coverage on NBC included a tribute to Gordie Howe during the first intermission, voiced by Emrick. Click here to watch NBC Sports’ tribute to “Mr. Hockey.”

Post-Game on NBC and NBCSN

Emrick: “The Penguins have won the Stanley Cup! They are mobbing Matt Murray. He keeled over from the attack…there are only six members of this team that have ever won the Stanley Cup before. It is so new to the rest. Out of the playoffs on December 12 – the hottest team in the NHL from around Christmas-time to the end, including this.”

Olczyk: “The Penguins were the better team for the majority of the series…for the second straight Stanley Cup for the Penguins, they change coaches during the season. As they did in 2009 with Dan Bylsma, they win the Stanley Cup.”

Crosby to McGuire: “It wasn’t easy getting here, especially the way things started out. The first half wasn’t easy. Everyone just stuck together.”

Crosby to McGuire on Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan: “He just held everyone accountable, giving different guys different opportunities and different roles. It’s up to guys to do something with it too, and you see some of the young guys have come in and the role they’ve played for us. Everyone has a part in this.”

Penguins’ Legend and Co-Owner/Chairman Mario Lemieux to McGuire: “The fans have been unbelievable. You saw, we had 20,000 fans outside of the arena. Since I’ve been there in 1984, they’ve always been the greatest fans. We’re going to have a little party for them in a couple days.”

Jones on Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan: “It’s one of the best coaching jobs I’ve ever seen. What Mike Sullivan did when he came to the Pittsburgh Penguins was change the attitude of a team that had fallen short for a number of years. They won the Cup in 2009, they should have won a couple more along the way. They needed a head coach to provide the discipline and also get the respect back from the players. He got all of that and more. This was a great coaching clinic by Mike Sullivan. You saw him lift the Cup and say, ‘I love this,’ – he’s going to do it again.”

Olczyk: “You need everybody – you need depth. The Penguins all of a sudden became a faster team with the moves that were made – the Hagelin trade, the Daley trade, the Schultz trade. And then the call-ups – Sheary, Rust, Kuhnhackl – just a much quicker team.”

Milbury on Penguins’ forward Phil Kessel: “I saw this guy back-check hard. I saw him get in the way of shots. I saw him make plays. I saw him be unselfish. This was a coming of age for Phil Kessel. He had to be in consideration for the Conn Smythe Trophy.”

Game 6 on NBC (Coverage began at 8 p.m. ET)

Third Period

Emrick: “One chaotic shift after another. A one-goal game in the balance. Oh – and the Stanley Cup, too.”

Emrick late in the period: “Still just a single shot on goal for the Sharks. They have attempted several. But they have either gone wide or been blocked, and that has been a nemesis of theirs – the Penguins’ shot-blocking.”

Olczyk on Patric Hornqvist’s goal, 3-1 Penguins: “We’ve talked a lot about shot-blocking in this series. Another shot blocked by Sidney Crosby.”

McGuire on Hornqvist’s goal: “He was the 230th pick in the 2005 Draft. The player that assisted him on the goal? The first overall pick in that draft.”

Second Intermission

Milbury on Jones and Murray: “He’s had far more quality chances in the second period and he’s stood the test…two goaltenders both playing well, I think Jones has been better because he’s been tested more in more difficult ways.”

Second Period

Emrick on point-blank save by Jones: “What a save by Jones on Bonino! Are you tired of Martin Jones’ saves that might be a turnaround?”

Olczyk on Jones: “When you have a goaltender that’s in the zone, you’ve got to hold onto the puck just a second longer, because right now it’s not working…he’s stopping everything.”

Olczyk less than five minutes into the period: “Four A+ chances for the Penguins in this period.”

Olczyk on Logan Couture goal, tied 1-1: “What a play by Brent Burns. The Penguins with some tired players on the ice, and the quick hands by Logan Couture.”

Olczyk on Kris Letang goal, 2-1 Penguins: “What a response by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The leadership from Sidney Crosby…Crosby to Letang…what an effort by Letang to find that soft area.”

First Intermission

Emrick on Gordie Howe: “Many who cheered him in these recent years never saw him play because he retired 36 years ago. But they heard about him. They heard about all of the accolades, leading Detroit to four Stanley Cups, all of the awards too…what we will remember about him and what we will miss were the performances and also the character of a great hockey soul.”

Milbury on Martin Jones: “Once again, Martin Jones was absolutely terrific. I didn’t like the first goal he let up, but after that, he was right on it, and he had to be. Pittsburgh had some great chances. This could be 4-0 right now.”

First Period

Olczyk on opening faceoff: “Right off the bat, Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby hacking and whacking off the faceoff win by Thornton…Crosby takes his stick and slashes Joe Thornton right behind the right knee.”

McGuire on Brian Dumoulin goal, 1-0 Penguins: “Head up, he stops once and pumps and it gets Melker Karlsson out of the shooting lane.”

NHL Live (6-8 p.m. ET) on NBCSN

Roenick on the Sharks: “They have to somehow find a way to stop the Penguins offense. Forty six shots on net is far too many.”

Boucher on Sharks goalie Martin Jones: “He stole Game 5 after he gave up the second goal in that hockey game…he got even stronger as the game went on…the difficulty of saves he had to make in this game was astounding.”

Boucher on Penguins goalie Matt Murray: “For him to say early on he was sharp and he played well (in Game 5), I have to strongly disagree. But as long as he goes into that locker room and proves to his teammates that he’s ready to go, that’s all that matters.”

Roenick on Gordie Howe: “He was the first pro athlete I ever had contact with. When I was seven years old, I was living in Hartford, and he was playing for the New England Whalers with Marty and Mark. Standing by the glass, watching them skate around in the morning, and he dumps snow over my head as I watched him skate by, and he went around again and gave me a little wink. For those 30 seconds, it was just me and Gordie Howe.”